Big Brother's Responsibility
by Mimi0204
Summary: Being the oldest, it was always Yakko's responsibility to be a parent to his siblings. It was only a matter of time before that responsibility became too much.
1. Where Do We Go From Here?

Disclaimer: I own Animaniacs. But only in the form of DVDs.

Edited: May 15, 2010

Thursdays were always such a weird day, Yakko mused. If something were to happen on a Thursday, then it would either make or break the weekend, among other things. Continuing his thoughts on his least favorite day of the week, Yakko surveyed the contents of the Warner's refrigerator. There was nothing, milk, nothing, nothing and nothing. And mayonnaise. He could always just have a mayonnaise sandwich, but he would rather sit for twenty minutes with Baloney the Dinosaur AND Mr. Director at the same time. And milk was definitely out of the question. He and his siblings learned the hard way that he was lactose intolerant. 'All in all,' he thought, looking back at the experience, 'that was the best studio party ever.'

"Hey, Yakko. I'm hungry," said Wakko, poking his head into the kitchen.

"I know you are, little bro," he replied. "Help yourself to whatever we don't have. Just try to leave some food for Dot." The last thing he needed was another argument between the two younger siblings. Yakko watched as Wakko wasted no time in devouring any and everything in his line of sight. He was used to Wakko complaining about being hungry. Heck, everyone in the studio was used to that. But in the past couple of months, the amount of complaints a day increased. And it wasn't just Wakko, either. Dot seemed to have taken a liking to her brother's unofficial catchphrase, because she also complained.

The first couple of months after the show was canceled, things were relatively good for the Warners. They watched what they spent their (little) money on. They spent it on mostly food. But with Wakko around, that was a given. But even though times were a little less than what they were used to, they managed to get by.

It wasn't until their (little) money started to dwindle that Yakko began to worry. Being the oldest, it was his responsibility to see to it that his siblings had everything they needed to survive. They already had a roof over their heads, so that was one less things to worry about. They had clothes, no problem. It was the miscellaneous things that Wakko and Dot felt they needed that made it hard on Yakko. But far be it from Yakko to deny his siblings anything. Ever since they were little, if he couldn't get them something that they wanted, he would feel bad about it. He often found himself wondering if all older siblings felt that way, or maybe he was a special case. (After all, not all older siblings were orphans who were locked inside of a water tower for almost 60 years.) Lately, everything seemed to be breaking down around him. Because if both of his siblings were hungry, that meant there wasn't any food. That meant that Yakko wasn't fulfilling his responsibility of caregiver.

That meant that Yakko Warner was a horrible big brother.

"Wakko! You cleaned out the entire fridge?" Dot cried in horror.

"Not the whole fridge, I left the mayonnaise and the milk," Wakko said, shoving a carton of baking soda in his mouth.

"And what am I supposed to do with mayo and milk, Wakko? Make cottage cheese?"

"It's not MY fault there's no food!"

'Low blow, little brother,' Yakko thought miserably as he listened in.

"Maybe if you did stuff your face every two seconds it _wouldn't_ be your fault!"

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Ok, guys. That's it!" It was time to intervene. "Wakko, apologize for eating a scootch too much food, Dot apologize for…"

"Oh great, here he goes again!" Dot said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Yakko and Wakko shared a look and turned back to Dot.

"And just what do you mean by _that_, Dot?" Yakko asked.

Dot marched up to Yakko and pulled him down to her level. "Every time Wakko and I get into an argument, you're always there trying to play the hero. And I gotta tell ya, it gets kind of annoying after some time."

"I don't try to play hero," he replied quietly. He turned to Wakko for support. "Do I?" Wakko looked sheepishly at his feet. He was avoiding answering the question. Wakko never did that. Unless he didn't want to hurt someone's feelings. "I don't mean to play hero, I just don't want you two fighting so much…"

"That's the problem, Yakko!" Dot said. "Do we ever ask you to stop our fights? No. You want to know why? Because we can solve them on our own. We're not always going to need big brother there to help us out."

"But…"

"No 'buts', Yakko. I hate to tell you this, but you aren't the dad. You're just the big brother who gets into things that sometimes he shouldn't."

Dot left the kitchen and headed towards her part of the water tower, leaving Yakko and Wakko to mull over what had just happened. Wakko went over to see if Yakko was ok, but when he put a hand on Yakko's shoulder, Yakko just pulled away from him. Wakko sighed.

"I'm sorry, Yakko. But Dot _does_ have a of a point."

Yakko nodded silently. Realizing he wasn't going to get any other reaction from his brother, Wakko left. Yakko stayed in the kitchen for a few minutes, just thinking. Wakko's Don Knotts videos were heard in the background. He was right. He was a horrible big brother. And it seemed his siblings agreed.

Without really paying attention to what he was doing, Yakko reached for the gallon of water and a glass. Filling the glass until it was completely full, he downed the contents. As he went to toss the glass in the sink to wash it later, he noticed the little bit that was left wasn't clear at all. Water was always supposed to be clear.

"Wait a minute! Since when do we have a gallon of water?" he cried. Slowly, as to not call attention to himself, and the really stupid thing he just did, he made his way to his part of the water tower. It would be a couple of minutes of waiting, and he was not looking forward to the consequences of his actions.

Ten minutes passed since she exploded at her older brother, and Dot felt really bad about what she had said. She didn't mean to come off so harshly, she was just really mad at Wakko. He always overdid it when it came to eating. And then Yakko came in trying to make things right, as always, but this time she lost it.

She made her way to where Wakko was finishing his 2nd video, and noticed Yakko was nowhere to be found.

"Hey Wakko, where's Yakko?"

"I dunno. Maybe his room."

And sure enough, there he was, curled into a ball on his bed. Was he really that upset by what she said?

"Hey, Yakko."

"..uh…"

"I just wanted to say that I was sorry for yelling at you earlier. You okay?" She waited for response. All she got was "ugh…" "Fine! Be that way!"

She was about to leave when she heard him sniff. Was he crying?

"Yakko? Are you ok?"

"ugh…water…pain hurts…"

That made no sense. Had he not rolled off his bed in a way that seemed to really hurt, she would have told him so. Instead, she panicked and called for Wakko. He was in the room all of two seconds later kneeling in front of Yakko, who was clutching his stomach, tears pouring from his eyes from the pain he was in. Dot took his head and placed it on her lap and brushing away the tears on his face in a form of comfort.

"You drank milk, didn't you?" Wakko asked.

"…little bit…"

"Why would you do that? Don't you know you're lactose intolerant?" Dot joked.

"…little bit…"

"Well, you're in for a fun night. Wakko, get some pillows. We're taking care of big brother tonight."

Yakko's tears returned, but not from the stomach pain.


	2. Oh Warner, Where Art Thou?

Edited May 15, 2010

The next morning, Yakko found that his stomach was still yelling at him for his actions. At least it was his stomach and not his siblings. He wasn't well enough to deal that. He was barely up for a rousing game of "I GOT IT!" when the phone rang. For the first time in the history of that game, Wakko got it. When he finished talking to the person on the other line (turns out it was Scratchansniff) he did the weirdest dance either he or Dot had ever seen. (Well, he _was_ Wakko, after all.)

He was lying in bed when Dot came in with a tray of food. She had the cutest smile on her face and a strange look in her eyes that gave Yakko goosebumps.

"Dot, where did you get all this?" he asked.

"That's what Scratchy called for. He heard we weren't doing so well and sent over some stuff," she said, placing the tray in front of Yakko. "And since your stomach is acting all smergish, I thought I would bring you something light to make it feel better."

"Scratchy sent all this?" Dot gave him a look. She knew by know that when it came to taking care of her and Wakko, Yakko became very prideful. She was worried he would take Dr. Scratchansniff's help the wrong way. Especially after last night. You can't off yourself with milk, but you could do some serious damage. She and Wakko still weren't sure if it really _had_ been an accident, given the circumstances. But she would give her big brother the benefit of the doubt, just in case.

Yakko meanwhile was seething on the inside. Who did Scratchansniff think he was, sending over supplies like they were dying without them?

'We were,' the voice inside his head reminded him. It still bothered him that he would feel the need to go and do that. Things weren't that bad. He just needed a little bit of time to get back on his feet, and the Warner Brothers, and the Warner Sister, would be just like old times.

But even Yakko knew that was a lie. Things would never go back to the way they were before. It was so strange, because things weren't ever as bad as they currently were before they broke out of the water tower. And just like that, the same argument he had with himself the last night, and many others before, came back all over again. What kind of a guardian was he to let things get so out of hand?

"Yakko, you're not eating anything. Are you still sick?" Dot asked, reaching over to feel his forehead.

"I'm fine, Dot. I'm just thinking too much," he replied. "Hey! Did you and Wakko eat?"

"Yeah. Wakko had to wait till I was finished, though." Yakko nodded and began eating the many pieces of toast Dot had situated before him. It tasted like feet, which meant that she made it herself.

'Ah well,' he thought. 'It's the thought that counts.'

Later that same day, the Warners were spending a relaxing day at home. It wasn't like they had anything else better to do. When the phone rang again, Yakko claimed his rightful place of "I GOT IT!" King, whereas Wakko went to sulk. ("I never get to get it.")

"Stockholm Insane Asylum, if they're lacking in the brain, we'll pack them full of pain. Dr. Warner speaking."

"Hello, Yakko."

It was Scratchy. That boiling feeling in his stomach from this morning returned.

"Well, what can I do for ya, Scratchy?" Yakko said through his clenched teeth.

"I vas calling to remind you zat you und your siblings have an appointment zis afternoon."

He had completely forgotten that. He, himself, had scheduled it as a "playday" for him and his siblings. Who else could they pester and not have the police called in to remove them from the premises? What the hey? He could play nice, even if it was for a little while.

"Okie dokie, Scratchy. We'll be right over!"

It was worse than he imagined. He was so zoned out that he didn't even notice Hello Nurse, any of the 12 times she was nearby. And how did he know it was 12 times? Because, subconsciously, he would hear Wakko belting their usual greeting and he would make note of it in his brain. Had his mind not been everywhere in the universe at the same time, he would have greeted her the same way.

"…and that's all I got, Doc," he heard Wakko say. What were they talking about, anyway?

"Und vat do you have to say about zis, Yakko?" Scratchansniff asked. That caught his attention.

"Huh? What? Who we talking about?"

"See what we mean?" Dot chimed. They were talking about him. How DARE they! And he was sitting right in front of them too!

"You've been very quiet, Yakko, und dat's not like you at all."

Something inside finally snapped. Between the food in the morning and the way everyone was looking at him then, Yakko became extremely angry. "So? I can't be quiet every once in a while? Do I ALWAYS have to be bouncing around? Would that make you happy, _Otto_? Or at least make you stop talking about me behind my back to my face! I don't even know why I bothered showing up to this. I'm going home!"

Yakko jumped off the couch, and ran out of the room. He (kinda, sorta, not really) waved politely to Hello Nurse, and marched back to the water tower. He had never been this angry over anything. He didn't even know why he was angry now.

He was pacing throughout the entire water tower, trying to calm down. He really didn't want to upset his sibling more than he already had. While pacing, he could hear the sound of his siblings voices as they came back from the p-sychiatrist's office. He seemed to be their favorite subject to speak about today. Dot was the first back inside, making sure the coast was clear of angry-Yakko.

"I mean, I've never seen him act like that before. Wakko, I'm really sca…"

"What is the matter with you two?" Yakko yelled, jumping into the room. He couldn't take it anymore. "First you don't want me around, then you treat me like a baby, and now I frighten you? Make up your mind, siblings, and let me know what you decide!"

Dot held onto Wakko like a lifeline as Yakko stormed out of the room in yet another furious fit. Tears started welling in her eyes when she felt Wakko pull her in for a tighter hug. Nothing made sense with Yakko anymore. And for the first time, she was scared that something was wrong with her brother.

Wakko didn't look up from the spot on the floor he was staring at when his brother started yelling. The situation at hand was not a very pretty one. All he knew was that he would be there for both his siblings, as best as he could, anyway. He would be Dot's shoulder to cry on, like he was doing right now. Every sniffle that escaped her was another piece of his heart breaking. He knew better than anyone, even more than Yakko, that she never _really_ cried. They were usually alligator tears to get what she wanted. These were tears of pain. She was upset because of Yakko.

And as much as he was angry at Yakko for making their baby sister cry, he knew something was very wrong with Yakko, and he would have to be there for him too. He would have to be the source of strength. The strong, silent one. There was a reason that he didn't talk much. After all, he was the middle child, and as such, the pillar of strength that held everything together when things started crumbling down. And right now, things weren't just crumbling. It was as if someone as running over them with a thousand jackhammers all at once.

"Come on, Dot. Yakko just needed to let off some steam. He's been kinda stressed lately. I know! Let's go watch some TV. I think I read something about a Mel Gibson marathon today."

Pillar of strength. He just hoped that he didn't start to crumble, like Yakko.


	3. His Greatest Nightmare

Edited: May 15, 2010

He was afraid this day would come. He felt it for some time now. Yakko Warner was beginning to show the symptoms. He just hoped that _he_ would get to them in time.

Dr. Otto Scratchansniff was sitting at his desk, reading the notes he took during his session with the Warner children. Normally, he didn't take notes. Normally, he _couldn't_ take notes, because they would jump on him or make him chase them around the room or studio. It got so bad once, he chased them all the way from Burbank to San Diego. That was the worst week ever.

But when they walked in, they _walked in_, he knew that this wasn't going to be a normal session. Yakko didn't even acknowledge Mara's presence. (Mara turned out to be Hello Nurse's real name, Dr. Scratchansniff learned not too long ago. He was so used to the Warner Brothers calling her "Hello Nurse" that he called her that, too.) So, he immediately grabbed is notepad, several pens, in different colors, and wrote as fast as he could while Dot and Wakko spoke.

That was something else that bothered him about the meeting. Wakko did most of the talking. When it came time for their sessions, Wakko was always eating his office and Yakko was doing all of the talking. . Today he sat down next to his brother, and just went on. Dot spoke once in a while, and Yakko stared off to his left into space.

"_The past couple of days, he's been fidgety. He doesn't talk as much, and he avoids us sometimes."_

"_I yelled at him yesterday, and he went and drank half a gallon of milk. He said it was an accident, but the timing seems just a tad too, I don't know, convenient?"_

"_When we tried to talk to him about it this morning, he acted like nothing happened. And he was real mad about that package you sent us, too. It was weird. He glared at it for twenty minutes."_

"_I noticed that, too. Wakko, did he try poking you on the way here?"_

"_Yeah, he did. Like he was trying to make sure I was there, or something. And that's all I got, Doc."_

Yes, he was going to have to keep a very close eye on the Warner children, especially Yakko.

Yakko was sitting on the couch in the dark, watching a blank screen, when someone jumped on the couch next to him.

"Ya know, they're beginning to get suspicious of you. They think you're going crazy, or something."

A second someone jumped on his other side.

"Scratchy's going to be very sad if that happens."

Yakko ignored them.

" Don't you mean _when_? Well, I think it's all very funny…"

"Nobody asked you!" Yakko yelled. He jumped off the couch, and started heading towards the entrance of the water tower.

"Ah-ah-ah, little Yakki! If you leave, who will take care of Dottie and Wakki?" said a third voice. The three figures all turned and stared at Yakko, who was trying to lean towards the door.

"If I leave, and talk to Dr. Scratchansniff …"

"You know what your problem is, Yakko? You talk too much. One day…" said the third figure.

"…that's going to end badly…" said the first figure.

"…and not just for you, but for your siblings, too," finished the second figure. Without wasting a second, all three figures were at Yakko's side, pulling him to the ground. The largest figure snapped its fingers and all the lights turned on, revealing three creatures that all looked like Yakko himself.

Tall-Yakko put his hand over Yakko's mouth to prevent him from speaking. Middle-Yakko sat on his legs. Little-Yakko pinned his arms to his sides.

"I just thought we would stop by and let you know that if things don't change soon, you and your siblings are in a lot of trouble," sneered Tall-Yakko. He snapped his fingers again, and out of the corner of his eyes, Yakko could see Wakko and Dot bound in a corner of the room. He could feel the tears gathering in his eyes as Tall-Yakko snapped yet again and his siblings' cries of pain echoed the water tower.

"Just remember, you have a big mouth, you might want to exercise precaution when using it."

With a final snap, Dot and Wakko fell to the floor, no longer moving.

"SIBS!" he cried, as he rolled off the bed. It felt like his heart was pounding so hard it would beat itself right out of his chest. Gathering himself from the floor, he wiped the tears from his eyes and sat on his bed. He fell to the floor again when his siblings came crashing in.

"Yakko, what's wrong?"

"What happened?"

_You have a big mouth, you might want to exercise precaution when using it._

Yakko looked at his siblings and shook his head. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around both of them. And, for the first time since he could remember, he cried on their shoulders.

At first, Dot and Wakko didn't know how to react to their brother's hug, but the second they heard him sob, they immediately knew what to do. They gave each other a look, and silently agreed, Yakko was not strong enough, right now, to stay alone. It took half an hour for Yakko's sobs to become silent tears. When that happened, Wakko lead his brother back to his bed and Dot tucked him in. Once they felt he was secure, Dot went to his left side and Wakko his right. The three of the spent the rest of the night like that. And Yakko felt slightly better, knowing his siblings were safe by his side.

At daybreak, things did not get any better. Wakko and Dot couldn't get Yakko to say a word about his nightmare. In fact, they couldn't get him to say a word at all. It was like he had taken a vow of silence.

"Come on, Yakko. Something, anything, and we'll leave you alone," Dot insisted. "Please? Pretty please? Cutie please?"

Yakko just sat there, shaking his head. Not even Dot's cuteness would work on him. Wakko was pacing around, pulling things in and out of his gag bag listening to Dot plead with Yakko.

"Dot," Wakko said, pointing to the grandfather clock half sticking out of his bag, "we have to go talk to Scratchy."

Dot nodded reluctantly, before giving Yakko a hug. "We'll be back, ok? Don't do anything stupid."

When Dot and Wakko finally stepped out of the water tower, Yakko collapsed on the floor. It was hard lying to his siblings and not telling them what was bothering him. But he felt the dream was right. And if that was the case, and if it meant being a good big brother, and protecting his siblings, then Yakko would never speak again.

"Hiya, Scratchy!" Wakko said, jumping Dr. Scratchansniff's lap. Scratchansniff sighed, half in relief that things seemed to be going back to normal, and half in misery that things were going back to normal. Actually, it was more like 97 percent in misery and 3 percent in relief. When the two Warners situated themselves on his furniture (not the couch) he grew worried again.

"Vere is Yakko?" he asked.

"He's not feeling well," Dot answered, looking out the window to the water tower. "He had a bad dream and then he stopped talking."

Scratchansniff didn't like the sound of that at all.

Wakko held Dot's hand as they made their way back to the water tower. They were there longer than he would have liked, but Scratchy was asking a lot of questions about Yakko. And they owed it to him to at least answer some of them. He could feel Dot scooting closer to him as the questions continued, and told Scratchansniff that they had to go and make sure Yakko was ok. Right before they left, Scratchansniff asked if they could get Yakko to visit next time. With a nod, they headed back to their brother.

Dot was the first one inside the tower. "Yakko, we're home! Just throw a chair if you're awake." There was no sound. The two siblings went looking for the third. No matter where they looked, Yakko was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe he just went out for a walk," Wakko chimed. He didn't like where this was heading.

Dot paced back and forth, not able to control herself. Why was this happening to them? Sure, they bothered people, but they weren't bad. It was just for fun. And now Yakko was missing? No, he wasn't missing, he just wasn't home right now. But, what if he was missing? What would they do? It's been Yakko, Wakko and Dot forever. They couldn't do it without Yakko. Never without Yakko. Without even realizing it, she spent the past three hours worrying about the whereabouts of her brother. This was too much, it was too real. And she was really scared.

"Wakko!" she cried. Immediately, he was at her side, holding her as she cried. It seemed that they were doing this a lot lately. And she did not like that one bit.

Two days had passed. Two days and no one had heard from Yakko. Wakko and Dot went door to door, person to person, toon to toon, asking anyone if they had seen or heard from the eldest Warner.

No one had. It was starting to affect the remaining two, and everyone in the studio was taking notice. Wakko was more outspoken, taking responsibility for himself and Dot. Dot was shying away from everyone, hardly talking to anyone who wasn't Wakko. Whatever was happening to the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) was turning from a small matter into a huge disaster. Even Thaddeus Plotz had offered to keep an eye out for Yakko.

Everyone knew something had to be done, and soon, or else they just might lose the last two remaining Warners.


	4. Without You

Edited May 15, 2010

"LAAPD, how can I help you?"

"Uh, yes, I vas called regarding a missing toon."

"Ah, Otto Scratchansniff?"

"Yes. Has zere been an update?"

"Unfortunately, no. The reason for the call was to let you know that they are moving this from 2nd tier to 3rd tier."

"Und vat does zat mean?"

"That it is not as high as a priority as it was."

"Und why is zis being done?"

"Dr. Scratchansniff, it has been two weeks since Yakko Warner has gone missing. After two weeks, if there isn't any sign, or even a clue, the case is placed on the back-burning, so to speak. I am very sorry."

"Ja. Ok. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, sir."

Wakko and Dot were going to be devastated when he told them.

"Dr. Scratchansniff just called," Wakko said. Dot just nodded. "Says he wants us to go talk to him."

"I don't want to talk."

"I know, me either. But you don't have to, y'know. We'll just listen to what he has to say, and then we'll leave, ok?"

"Ok. Wakko?"

"Yes, Dot?"

"Can we…never mind," she sighed.

Yakko disappearing (leaving, being kidnapped, who knew anymore?) upset them a great deal. Wakko had to fill in for him, so he never got over it. Not really. And he couldn't find time for himself, not when Dot needed him. She had completely given up. Everything that made her "the cute one" all but disappeared. The two didn't joke around, they rarely left the water tower, and they were never out of each other's sight for more than five minutes.

Dot didn't talk to anyone but Wakko. She wouldn't let anyone talk to her, and if someone got too close, she would hide behind her brother. Wakko was the one who spoke, never giving up hope that Yakko was just taking a really long walk, or that he just needed some time to himself. So, everyday he would get up early and get food ready for him and Dot. Once they were done eating, they would venture out, looking for any sign of their missing older brother.

Once Dot thought she had seen him, sitting at a diner talking to a waitress, but when she got a closer look, it turned out to be Bosko, who was waiting for Honey so they could have an afternoon brunch. That day was especially hard on her, because it happened to be exactly one week after Yakko went missing. She locked herself in the bathroom and cried for hours. Not even Wakko could get her out.

Wakko sighed and offered his hand, which his baby sister accepted with a small smile on her face. At least he could still make her smile. That was something he was especially scared of losing. The two youngest Warners made their way down the ladder of their home, and towards their p-sychiatrist's office.

"How about, when we're done listening to Scratchy go on and on about whatever, we get some ice cream?" Wakko asked, hoping to make Dot feel a little bit better. She nodded. He gave her hand a little squeeze and smiled at her. "Good."

Dot heard a scratching noise coming from the alleyway near Mr. Plotz's office. Thinking nothing of it, she ignored it. When she heard it again, she stopped walking. Wakko, not paying attention, was pulled to the floor.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I heard something," she replied. Wakko scratched his head.

"Maybe it's Rita and Runt?"

When the scratching noise became a cough, they went to investigate. Slowly, Wakko went into the alleyway, Dot making her way slowly behind him. They both stopped whenever they heard another noise. Finally, after 6 minutes, they made their way to the source of the noise.

"Yakko!" Dot cried. Yakko was sitting behind a dumpster, staring at his hands that were folded onto his lap. His left glove was missing two fingers, and his pants had holes going down the right side. "Yakko? Are you ok?"

"Dottie?"

"H-hey! Remember, you call me 'Dottie' and you die?" she said. She was trying to hold back tears of happiness for finding her brother. "What happened to you, Yakko?"

That seemed to be a bad question to ask. Yakko pushed himself away from his siblings, and lay on the floor. Wrapping his arms around his chest, he started begging an invisible someone to "not take them away again."

"Dot, go get Plotz. Ask him to help us," Wakko said. He knew that if anyone could get Thaddeus Plotz to help them, Dot could. "I'll stay with Yakko. Just go get help, ok?"

Dot nodded and ran as fast as she could to his office. Wakko sat next to his brother, who was shaking, and grabbed him like a lifeline.

"Dottie? Why'd they take Dottie? Wakko? Why did they take our Dottie?"

Wakko's reserve as the pillar of strength was waning, just like Yakko's had.

"MR. PLOTZ! TP!"

"Oh, great…" Plotz muttered under his breath. The media was having a field day with Yakko Warner's disappearance. And _he _was the one who had to deal with all the press. All the questions, and the accusing looks.

_How could you let this happen? Are you planning on getting rid of the other two? What is the Warner Bros. studio planning on doing now that one of its stars is missing?_

And on and on and on. It was starting to bug him to no end. And Scratchansniff playing worried parent-figure… it was all too much.

Pushing the security button on the intercom, he paged anyone to come and help him. He was tired of dealing with the Warner children.

"Mr. Plotz, please, you have to help us!" Dot said, barging in his office. He had never seen her cry before. He was starting to feel bad about paging security. "TP, we found Yakko, but he's sick, and we don't know what to do, and Wakko's with him, and he's in an alley, and…"

"Dot, calm down," he said, trying to calm the hysterical girl down.

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN! MY BROTHER IS SICK! And we need your help, please…" She was asking nicely. She was saying please. She was very serious.

Thaddeus Plotz did something he never thought he would do in a million years. He was helping the Warners. He picked up the phone and called everyone he could think of. He made threats, cursed, and shouted. And within five minutes, help was on the way. And he was the first person besides her brother who had made the youngest Warner smile for the first time in two weeks.


	5. Fetus Steps

Edited: May 15, 2010

Twenty minutes had gone by since Dot ran off in search of help. Wakko remained in the alley, keeping an eye on Yakko. He sat on the ground, back against the wall, and Yakko's head in his lap. Every couple of minutes, he would find himself stroking Yakko's head, making sure that he was really there. Yakko, himself, was in another world completely. There were moments where he would speak out to someone randomly, someone who nobody but Yakko could see, then he was silent.

"Hey, Wakko. How are you?" Yakko suddenly asked. Wakko looked down at his brother a smiled.

"I'm ok, Yakko," he replied. Yakko nodded. He lifted his head slightly and got a quick glance at their surroundings.

"Good. I'm glad you're ok. Where's Dottie?"

Even though he was happy that they had found Yakko, Wakko was a little bit annoyed with his brother. There was something wrong with Yakko, and nobody knew what. Before he went missing, he rarely spoke. Which wasn't normal for the eldest Warner at all. Now, when he did speak, it was almost as if Yakko was a small child. Yakko, who under normal circumstances could run circles around anyone verbally, was speaking as though he had somehow reverted back to being a five-year-old.

"She's getting us help," Wakko said.

"Do we need help?"

"Yeah. Yeah we do."

Yakko nodded again. "Ok then. I'm sleepy. I'm gonna take a nap." Yakko snuggled deeper into Wakko's lap and closed his eyes. "You won't let them take you away from me, will you Wakko?"

"What? No!" Wakko replied. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good. Love you," were his final words as he drifted off to sleep.

"Love you, too…" Wakko whispered to his resting sibling. The Wheel of Morality was wrong: ten weeks from Friday was not turning out to be a good day at all. And where was Dot? How long did it take to get help? Unless something happened to her too.

He was not good at this sitting and not doing anything. He had his ailing sibling asleep on his lap, his other sibling looking for help, and he was just sitting there doing nothing. If it didn't mean waking Yakko, he would have let out a very loud belch, just to say he did something. But as it was, he just sat there, watching his brother fight the images in his head.

Wakko was drifting off to sleep himself when Yakko shot up. Slowly, not to frighten him, Wakko approached his brother.

"Yakko?"

Yakko's head turned at the sound of Wakko's voice. "We need to get out of here."

"What?"

"We need to get out of here. We need…" Yakko stopped. He stared at Wakko for a moment, and then started looking around the alley. "Where is Dot? What happened to her? Wakko, where is she?"

'Didn't we already have this conversation?' Wakko thought. "She's getting help. I told you this before."

"Before? What are you talking about?"

"When you were falling asleep on my lap," Wakko said. This was too much.

"Wakko, what are you talking about? I was here talking to Re…" Whatever Yakko was about to say was cut off by the blaring of a siren. An ambulance pulled up in front of Yakko and Wakko. The doors opened and out popped Dot, with Dr. Scratchansniff and Plotz in tow.

"Took you long enough," said Wakko.

"Hey, it's not my fault Ralph wouldn't let them in the studio," Dot quipped. "Besides, we got here, right?" Wakko just shrugged. He and Dot went over to Yakko, who was staring at the ambulance with a glazed look in his eyes. Dr. Scratchansniff was talking to the driver and the EMT, who was getting everything ready, and Plotz was standing off to one side, still weary of the Warners. Yakko's eyes suddenly lit up when he looked at Dot.

"Dottie!" he said, pulling her into a hug. "They brought you back!"

"They? And did you just call me 'Dottie'?" she asked. Wakko wrapped his arms around her once Yakko let her go, preventing her from getting to Yakko for the "Dottie".

"He's not all there right now. And he's already called you 'Dottie' like, a jadillion times," he said.

"Wakko, that's not a real number. It's not even a real word."

"It is in Opposite Land."

Dr. Scratchansniff sighed as the two siblings began to argue. He went over to Yakko and gently grabbed him by the arm, steering him towards the ambulance. Yakko followed without saying a word, still keeping an eye on the quarreling pair. With the help of the EMT, Yakko was loaded onto the ambulance. He watched as the EMT filled a syringe with some liquid. As soon as the needle was filled, Yakko grabbed it and began to play with the syringe.

"Yakko, leave zat alone und give it back to ze doctor!" Dr. Scratchansniff cried. Yakko ignored him, and spun it around on his fingers. When the needle struck him, he cried out. Wakko and Dot heard the cry, immediately stopping the fight, and noticed their brother was being held down by the EMT and the driver.

"Hey! You can't do that to him!" Dot cried out. She and Wakko began making their way to Yakko's side. Plotz got in front of them, and stopped them from going any further.

"You two need to stay out here until they are done," he said.

"What are they doing to him?" Dot asked.

"And why do we need to stay out here?" Wakko said. "We have _every_ right to be in there!"

"Wakko? Dot?" Yakko's frightened voice came from inside the truck. They jumped over Plotz when they heard him. They had made it to the truck when the EMT grabbed them.

"Sorry kid, but we can't let you in there," was all he said, before he began to close the doors on the back of the truck. Wakko and Dot glared at him, but he ignored them. He had the second door partially closed when Yakko let out a shriek.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE! BRING THEM BACK!"

Dr. Scratchansniff, who was asked to sit in the front seat of the ambulance, jumped out of the car and ran back to the Warners.

"Vat are you doing?" he cried. The EMT backed up from the angry looking psychiatrist, and pointed to the screaming boy in the truck.

"We cannot permit anyone in there at the moment. That kid needs to be sent to the hospital as soon as possible, and rules say only one person is allowed to accompany the patient. And you're already going."

"DOT! DOTTIE! WAKKO? COME BACK!"

"Und I _told_ you vat is going on in his head, und he CANNOT be allowed in zere without his siblings! If you vant to drive to ze hospital with a screaming, crying, _frightened_ child in the back, zen by all means, leave him by himself!" Dr. Scratchansniff argued. Wakko, Dot, the ambulance driver and Plotz watched as he and the EMT went back and forth. Yakko was still screaming on the inside, but the longer the two men yelled at each other, the quieter he became.

"No offense, pal, but who do you think you are, anyway? You aren't his father," the EMT said. Dr. Scratchansniff bristled.

"No. I am his P-sychiatrist. Und I vas given rights, by ze Warner Brothers studio, to oversee to ze Warner's well being. And you are making my job as zere unofficial guardian extremely difficult!" He opened his mouth to say more, but the sobbing child in the ambulance stopped the words from coming out.

"I'll be quiet, I promise. Just give them back. Please," Yakko said from inside. Everyone outside the ambulance turned to the EMT. Wakko and Dot looked at him with pleading eyes. Plotz was looking back and forth from the ambulance, the Warners and the EMT. Even he felt bad for Yakko at the moment.

"Vell? Are you going to prolong his suffering, or are you going to show some compassion for a sick little boy und let him be with his siblings?" Scratchansniff asked, crossing him arms in front of his chest. The EMT sighed and opened the doors, allowing Wakko and Dot to enter. Yakko stopped crying and he had the brightest smile on his face the instant he saw his siblings. "Thank you," Scratchansniff said. He turned around and sat back in the passenger's seat of the ambulance.

"And that," Plotz said, putting a hand on the EMT's shoulder, "is why I hired him." Without another word, the CEO walked back to his office to deal with the press yet again. This time with good news regarding Yakko Warner.

The EMT watched as Plotz made his way back to his office. He looked inside of the ambulance, and saw Dot stroking Yakko's face, getting rid of the tears, and Wakko holding his hand, trying to coax him back to sleep.

'No wonder they locked these kids up for so long,' he thought. 'They make everyone around them freaking nuts.'

Yakko's mind was everywhere at once. He had been at the hospital for a week, and everything was moving so quickly, yet slowly at the same time. It was so weird. He heard everything they had been saying about him. He wasn't stupid. And he wasn't crazy. It didn't matter what anyone said. As soon as he was let out, he would be at the tower with his sibs and everything would back to normal.

Yakko looked at a sunflower in a vase with a picture leaning against it. He had gotten a lot of visitors in the past week. However, besides his siblings (on a good day), the only ones that gave him any sort of relief from being trapped between the four white walls were Pinky and the Brain. No one knew why _they_ showed up. But that particular afternoon made Yakko feel slightly better about his predicament.

Dr. Scratchansniff had just left the room taking Dot with him, stating they needed to get some food and Wakko left citing a "super potty emergency". Yakko was settling in when he felt two thumps at the foot of his bed. Peeking towards his feet, he saw the two lab mice making their way towards him. The taller of the two was holding a sunflower.

"Zort. "It's so sad, really. He was such a nice guy," said Pinky, placing the sunflower on Yakko's hand. He did not notice the Brain looking at him strangely. "Always laughing, and telling funny stories, and doing those songs with the long words."

"What are you talking about, Pinky?" questioned Brain.

"Yakko, of course. Isn't that why we're here? To say goodbye?"

"I'm not dead, Pinky," said Yakko. Pinky glanced at him, looked back at the Brain, did a double take to Yakko, and passed out.

"Yes, well, my apologies, Yakko. It seems Pinky here misinterpreted what was said."

"So you didn't tell him that I was lying on my death bed or kicking the bucket in any way, shape, or form?" Yakko asked.

"Yes! I mean, no. No I didn't." Brain shook his head. He began to prod Pinky with his foot, in an attempt to rouse the mouse. When that failed, he asked Yakko for the pen sitting on the tray table to his side. "May I borrow your pen?" Yakko gave it to him. With a swift whack to the head, Pinky was up.

"Yes, I'd like to bake a cake with you!" he said. Yakko and the Brain just shared a look as Pinky laughed. Yakko chuckled.

"So what brings you to my whitewashed neck of the woods?"

"Can we not come by and wish a former cast member our well wishes for his swift recovery?" Brain asked.

Yakko was at a loss. There were three different scenarios that were going through his head. The first being the Brain was actually telling the truth, and if that was the case, he was slightly worried about _his _mental state, as the Brain associated with no one other than Pinky. The second was he was trying to find a way to use Yakko's stay at the hospital in another well thought out, yet ill-fated attempt at global conquest. The third involved a bicycle and a cross-country trip and pomegranates. He didn't really see that one being true.

"Although, I think Pinky could pull of a grey suit," he said out loud. When he saw the looks Pinky and the Brain were giving him, he grinned sheepishly. Pinky started to laugh again, but Brain was staring at him intently.

"Be that as it may, we must be on our way, Get well Yakko Warner. Come Pinky."

Before joining Brain, Pinky ran back to Yakko. "You know, for what it's worth, your siblings are so lucky to have you. I have a sister, you know? I never really get to see her, but I never forget how lucky I am to have her." Pinky pulled out a picture of himself with a spool of thread that had a bow attached to it. "Poit! That's me, and that's Cindy. Here. You can have this picture."

"Pinky!"

"Coming, Brain! Bye-bye, Yakko!" Pinky jumped off the bed and landed, on his stomach, next to Brain. "Why are we leaving so soon, Brain?"

"Because, Pinky. Look at the time, it's nearly 5 o'clock pm. And we have to plan for tonight."

"Why? What are we doing tonight?"

"Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!"

As the mice left his room, Yakko couldn't help but hum. "They're dinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain."

The next time his siblings came to visit him, Yakko told them about his encounter with the two mice, showing them the picture Pinky had left with him, and excluding his burst of temporary verbal diarrhea, and Pinky's surge of insight. His siblings thought it was strange, but paid no real mind to it. They felt it was a good thing that Yakko had people coming to visit him, no matter how brief or strange said visit actually was.

It was Dr. Scratchansniff's visits that were bothering to him. With Scratchansniff, he was always viewed as an experiment. The perfect test subject to delve into the innermost recesses of an insane person's mind. That's what Yakko felt, anyway. And, to him, it was like Wakko and Dot were ignoring that completely. He was tired of being looked at like he was going to break. He wasn't glass, and he wasn't on the edge of a major meltdown. But with everyone treating him as such, he was almost positive he would be.

Dot always hated hospitals. For whatever reason, they just didn't agree with her. And knowing that her brother was there, and wouldn't be allowed out for another two weeks, well, let's just say that did not sit well with the Warner sister.

But she couldn't really blame the doctors. She couldn't really blame Yakko, either, though. The mind was a tricky instrument that broke easily if the wrong buttons were pushed. And something pushed the buttons in Yakko's head. She and Wakko were trying to figure out what were the right buttons to push to fix him.

Making her way down the corridor, she kept her head down. She knew the way to his room by heart. With a sigh, she opened the door that blocked her from her brother. She entered the room to see him staring out the window. He was miserable here.

"Hi Yakko."

"Hello Dot," he replied in a monotone voice.

"How are you today?"

"I'm just peachy. It's always great when you're strapped to a bed, forced to do nothing but stare out of a window, practically abandoned by your closest of kin, for all of a month. I don't know, Dot. How do you THINK I'm doing?"

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" he asked with a sigh.

Dot sat in the chair and looked Yakko in the eyes. "Twist words around to make it seem like you're some sort of helpless victim."

"Maybe because, for some reason, that's how everyone continues to treat me, Dot."

"Maybe if you were a little bit nicer to everyone, and stopped pushing the people who care about you the most away, there wouldn't be a reason for that to happen!" Dot yelled.

"Well, gee, Dot. Let's strap you to a bed and have doctors run in and out of your room every hour, on the hour, and ask you stupid questions about your feelings, and see how you like it!" Yakko yelled back.

"Why do you keep saying they strapped you to the bed?"

"That's what they did!" Yakko tried raising his arms, but could only lift them so far. Dot pulled the blanket from his chest, and saw for the first time, her brother really _was_ strapped to the bed.

"Why would they do that to you?" she whispered in horror. Yakko looked up and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Because, according to them, I am, and I quote, 'A danger to myself'. Don't believe me? Check out my right arm. A simple fall made me slam my arm against something sharp, and all of a sudden I'm a suicidal flight risk."

Dr. Scratchansniff choose at that moment to show up, Hello Nurse sauntering in behind him. Yakko was too angry at the moment to give her his customary greeting, and Dot was too weary to jump on Scratchansniff.

"Have you come to ask me how wonderful my horrible day is going, too, Scratchy?" Yakko spat.

"Hey! That's not fair, Yakko! I'm trying to help!" Dot said. Dr. Scratchansniff said nothing.

"Trying to help? Help do what, Dot? Make me completely lose it?" he laughed. "Cause in that case, you seem to be doing a great job!"

Dot's jaw dropped. He was being so mean. Yakko was never mean, not even to their special friends. But he was outright mean this time. Dr. Scratchansniff motioned to Hello Nurse. She left the room silently as he went over to Dot.

"Come along, Dot." He put an arm around. Turning to Yakko, he shook his head silently and left the room.

Yakko lie there, watching the door close, his sister behind it. He couldn't believe he did it again! When was he going to learn to keep his big mouth shut?

"Dot? I'm sorry! Dot?" That wasn't working. "Princess Angelina Countessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third?"

"_You have a big mouth, you might want to exercise precaution when using it."_

Was this what Reynold was talking about? Was he hurting his siblings? Yakko shook his head. What a stupid question! Of course he was hurting them! That's all did. Every time they came by. What kind of big brother was he? It got so bad that Dr. Scratchansniff had to take them away from him just so they were safe from him.

He was taking them away from him. Yakko felt a stab of pain in his chest at that thought. They were being taken away from him because he wasn't a good brother.

"DOT! I'M SORRY! REALLY I AM!" Yakko struggled against his restraint. "DR. SCRATCHANSNIFF! BRING HER BACK PLEASE! SCRATCHY?"

A nurse ran in, needle in hand, and quickly filled the IV attached to Yakko's left arm. Even with all his thrashing, the medication began to kick in.

"What are you doing? I have to apologize to my baby sister! Please!" The nurse looked at him for a moment, and then began to leave. "Can you tell her I'm sorry?" The nurse said nothing and left. "Come on! He's taking her away! We're all we have! Dot, Wakko…I'm sorry, please believe me…" No longer able to fight off the medication, Yakko was pulled into another nightmare-filled slumber, unaware of the presence that watched him sleep. As he slept, several petals from the sunflower Pinky gave him fell to the ground.

Dr. Scratchansniff left the hospital with Dot after Yakko had another panic attack. According to the doctors, he was fairly quiet, unless his siblings were there. He would go from being incredibly hostile towards his siblings to doing a complete 180 and become ridiculously overprotective of them. He had objected to them tying Yakko's hands and legs to the bed, but had later agreed to it when Yakko tried, five times, to run out of the hospital.

"Now, Dot, I vant you und your brother to stay home for a little while, ja?"

"Do you know what's wrong with Yakko?" Dot asked.

"I think I do, but I don't know if I'm right."

"Oh. Ok." She climbed the ladder to the top of the water tower and went inside. He watched for her to close the door, and made his way back to his office. He was in for another night of phone calls and rereading textbooks.

Wakko walked out of the kitchen when he heard his sister enter. He went and joined her on the couch. The two sighed at the same time.

"This totally sucks," Dot said.

"Yeah, it does," Wakko replied.

"He yelled at me this time."

"Again?"

"But it wasn't like last time. This time he was really mad."

Wakko bent over, his hands covering his face. "I think he's tired of us."

"What?" Dot gasped. "No! He can't be. You don't get tired of family, Wakko!"

Wakko shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I think."

"Well, I think you're wrong!" Dot ran to her room, and slammed the door.

Wakko took his hat off, and lay on the couch. Maybe Dot was right. But, even if Yakko wasn't getting tired of his family, he wasn't very happy with them. Not lately. Wakko looked to the picture of the three of them, sitting above the television. Yakko was giving him a piggyback ride, with Dot in his arms. Wakko chuckled as he remembered that. It was a very difficult pose, but Yakko said he could pull it off. Dr. Scratchansniff said he would take a picture if he could pull it off. Yakko did pull it off, for all of 10 seconds, until he tripped and sent the Warner siblings tumbling to the ground, laughing as if nothing had happened. It was one of the few sessions where Scratchansniff went along with their antics.

Wakko sighed again. So many questions were circling his mind. Where had those days gone? What was going to happen if things kept going the way they were? And when were Wakko and Dot going to get their big brother back? Could they?


	6. The Hows and Whys of One Yakko Warner

Edited: May 15, 2010

Dr. Jesse Pauniell walked to his office, Yakko Warner's folder in hand. That boy was such an odd case, no wonder Otto had called. He placed the folder on top of a stack of more folders, all of which were labeled _**Warner, Yakko**_. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his frizzy hair. He picked up the phone and began to dial the number he had memorized.

"Warner Bros. Psychiatry, how may I assist you?" Nurse Hayes asked on the line.

"Oh, hello nurse. How are you today?" Dr. Pauniell asked politely.

"Very well, Jesse, how are you?" she asked.

"I've been better. Say, is Otty around?"

"Certainly, one second."

"You're the best!" He heard her chuckle softly before the line made a buzzing sound, signaling a transfer being made. He sat there for a few seconds when the elevator music was cut off.

"Hello, Jesse," Dr. Scratchansniff said.

"Otty! How the heck's my favorite little brother?"

"I am not your brother, Jesse und I am very, very tired. Vat do you vant?"

"I think I've finally got Warner pegged," he said, going through the folders and various notes sitting on his desk.

"I don't like ze sound of your voice."

"I don't like the results I have. You said you wanted me to talk with his siblings?"

"Ja. I vant zem to understand vat is going on."

"Alright. When do you want me there?"

"How about in an hour?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

"Ja, goodbye."

Dr. Pauniell hung up and continued to go over his notes. Grabbing everything he had, he opened his briefcase and put the majority of the folders in there. He began heading out when the phone rang.

"Hello?" he said.

"Is everything set?" the voice on the other line asked.

"Yes. Everything is set. That's kinda creepy how you did that."

"When?" the voice asked, ignoring the doctor's comment.

"An hour. Don't be late, or this will all be pointless."

"Very well. Do you have all that you're going to need?"

"Of course. Are you ready for this? We only get one shot."

"Yes, always."

"Good. Remember, one hour. Don't be late."

"I heard the first time."

He grabbed his briefcase, threw in one more folder and left the office. Today was going to be an eventful day, he realized.

He walked briskly towards Yakko's room, hoping to catch the boy one last time before going to speak with Dr. Scratchansniff. It seemed every time that he was in the same room with him, the boy was asleep. Briefcase in hand, he watched the boy sleep. After checking the hallway to make sure no one was coming, he went back to the room. As quietly as he could, he began removing the ties that held Yakko to his bed. It wasn't until the second restraint on Yakko's arm was unbuckled that he woke up.

"Good morning, sunshine," Dr. Pauniell smiled. Yakko looked at him strangely.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Getting rid of these damn restraints. I mean, you're a kid for crying out loud. What are you going to do? Set the Warner Bros. studio on fire?

"Would you believe me if I said I've already done that?" Yakko asked. Dr. Pauniell stared at him for a few seconds, before bursting into laughter.

"Well, there you go," he said, smiling. "You've already had your brief stint as an arsonist, so no need to do it again."

Yakko watched him wanly as he removed the restraints. When the last one was off, he sat up and rubbed his wrists.

"Thanks, I think."

"No problem." Dr. Pauniell glanced at his watch. "I have an appointment in half an hour. I have to get going. Do me a favor, will you?"

"What?"

"No matter what happens, you stay positive, got it?"

Yakko nodded. He didn't know why he was nodding, but it seemed to make the doctor happier. And he had to admit, he liked this guy. With a nod, the doctor practically ran out the door, leaving Yakko alone with his thoughts. He wasn't quite sure if he liked that.

Jesse ran up to Nurse Hayes' desk twenty minutes late for the appointment that _he_ set. Otto was going to be so mad at him. With a quick smile, Nurse Hayes nodded for him to enter Dr. Scratchansniff's office. When he entered, Dr. Scratchansniff was sitting with Dot and Wakko Warner, both of whom looked incredibly bored. Sitting beside the Warners were Pinky and the Brain. Pinky was standing on his head, laughing to himself, The Brain was glaring intently at him.

"'Don't be late' you said. 'This will be pointless otherwise' were your words," the Brain said. "Next time you decide to set up an appointment with someone, please try to make sure that you arrive on time. The rest of us _do _have other things to take care of."

"Of course, and how is that taking over the world thing going for you?" Jesse asked. He opened his briefcase and pulled out the stack of folders. He handed the majority of them to Scratchansniff and gave the Warners each one. As he went through his own notes, both Wakko and the Brain were giving him the evil eye. "You'll be happy to know that I took the restraints off of him, little brother."

"I am not your little brozer!" Dr. Scratchansniff said.

"Why do you have these folders?" Dot asked. Jesse looked at her for a moment and sat in a chair next to Dr. Scratchansniff.

"I called ze Warner Bros. psychiatry department in New York City so zat zey could help me figure out vat was going on in Yakko's head. He's been acting very…strange lately, I'm sure you have noticed," Dr. Scratchansniff said. Wakko and Dot gave him a 'Duh, moron' stare. "Ah, yes, right."

"So, they decided to send somebody down to help out with the project. Me." Jesse said.

"So my brother is now a _project_?" Wakko spat. "What next? Are you going to shove him in a cage and start poking him with sticks and monitors and gadgets and…"

"There, there. Poit. It's ok, sugarcube," Pinky said patting Wakko's knee. Everyone turned their attention to the Brain who coughed none too subtly.

"Actually, we've already been monitoring Yakko Warner from the day he was admitted."

"Egad Brain! How did you do that?"

"If you would be so kind as to follow me to Acme Labs, I can show you all." Everyone began following the Brain. Wakko held Dot's hand, and kept as far away from Jesse as he could, every couple of seconds sending a glare towards the New Yorker. Those looks were not missed by either of the psychiatrists. It left Jesse feeling slightly awkward, and Scratchansniff feeling proud of the middle Warner.

Yakko felt it was very nice of Dr. Pauniell to let him out of his restraints. It WAS strange, yes. And any type of logic surely would have told him "Yakko Warner was NOT to be left alone to his own devices!" But he was free, and who was he to complain about that? He could finally leave this room!

As quietly as he could (and that was really quiet, given all the years he spent sneaking around Ralph), Yakko exited the room he had dubbed "Whitewashed Hell". He avoided any and everybody as he made his way towards his destination. He frequently looked up and down the hallways, making sure he wasn't seen or being followed. When he finally made it to where he wanted to be, after yet another quick sweep of the aisle, he pushed the heavy door leading to the stairwell open and climbed up the steps.

Every few seconds he would rub the spot behind his right ear, or shake his head, trying to stop the oncoming headaches he usually only got when he felt worried. Now wasn't the time for worrying however, he told himself. Now he just wanted to disappear.

They made their way to the secret room behind Acme Labs where the Brain had most of his failed experiments and plans strewn about the room. He went to a table in the far right hand corner of the room and pulled out a paper labeled "Op.: Vision of Greatness."

"This is the original layout for one of my more… unoriginal ideas," he said, laying the paper on the table for everyone to see. "It consisted of surveillance cameras hidden inside of a bouquet of flowers. Every person who bought of my flowers would be seen on this screen." He signaled to a giant screen hidden behind a blackboard. "The problem with that idea was it wasn't completely thought out. I had step one: Watch everybody. I could watch people in their homes, that was it. No way could I take over the world by being a voyeur. Not one of my better ideas, but I was having an off day."

Pinky nodded. "He was all, 'Pinky, don't touch the paper, I'm taking a nap!' and I was 'Ok, Brain!' and he took a nap. And then he woke up again, and was bored so he watched a movie."

"Uh-huh, that's great," Dot said, eyeing the giant screen warily, "but what does this have to do with my brother?"

"It's simple really. I'm quite positive Yakko informed you of our little chat a few weeks back?" the Brain asked, addressing Dot and Wakko. The two nodded. "And I am sure you noticed the flower Pinky left for him?" Another nod from the Warners. "Well, after my, ahem, nap, I came up with another idea, involving the same flowers."

"Brain's favorite flower is a Tiger lily," Pinky stated offhandedly. The Brain shot him a quick glance, though whether it was for interrupting him or for revealing the embarrassing secret no one could tell.

"Do you all recall the film _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial _by any chance?" the Brain asked. Everyone but Jesse nodded.

"I never saw it."

"You poor thing," Dot said, patting his hand.

"You NEVER saw it?" Wakko cried out. "Have you been living on another planet? Even _we_," he motioned between himself and his sister, "saw it, and we were locked in a water tower for decades!"

"May I please continue?" Brain snapped, interrupting whatever Jesse was about to say. "If you recall, the alien and the boy were connected, not only to each other, but also to the pot of flowers the alien healed some point in the beginning. Using that same premise, I theorized, why not use the surveillance flowers to inform me whenever someone was 'feeling down', and then try to use their need for a 'shoulder to cry on' as a way to get into their houses and take over the world!"

"So? I STILL don't see what any of this has to do with Yakko," Dot said again.

"The flowers wilted when the alien was dying. They regenerated when it he was coming back to life."

"It was so sad. Brain cried when ET died," Pinky said. This time, however, the Brain whacked him on the head with a roll of paper.

"That's enough sharing about the Brain for today, Pinky," he said. Pinky's agreement was laughter. He turned his attention back to the Warners and the psychiatrists. "I devised a way to have that happen with the same flowers I put the cameras in. Again, however, certain details were left out, and that plan wasn't fully thought out. All I was left with was a flower that fed off emotions and spied on people."

"Maybe you were too busy crying over ET to think the whole thing out," Wakko muttered under his breath. The Brain didn't hear him, thankfully, but Dot did, and began to laugh.

"I don't see what is so amusing."

"You wouldn't," Dot muttered, causing Wakko to laugh. Pinky, who just enjoyed the sight of the two laughing, decided to join in.

"So vat you are saying is zat you gave one of your camera flowers to Yakko?" Dr. Scratchansniff asked. The Brain nodded. "Vas zis your idea?" he asked Jesse.

"Not all of it. I didn't get the whole emotion feeling flower bit, but being able to watch Yakko at all times made things a little bit easier on all of us," Jesse said.

"With a few alterations to the plant, I was able to make a flower that not only fed off of your brother's emotions, but detected what he was feeling. If he was happy, the flower would be in full bloom. If he was sad, petals would drop. And the best part," the Brain pushed a button on the console which turned the screen on, "it would give us complete readings, so we always knew what was going on."

"So why is the screen blue?" Wakko asked.

"Because he's….where did he go?" Everyone turned to Jesse, whose pager went off.

_WARNER IS MISSING. YOU NEED TO GET BACK HERE AND FIND HIM._

"Um…hmm. It seems that maybe letting Yakko out of the restraints wasn't as good an idea as we thought," Jesse said. Wakko was glaring at him again, and Dot was glancing between her brother and Jesse.

"Why is that a bad thing, doctor?" Wakko spat.

"Because he, uh… he's gone missing."

"YOU LET MY BROTHER GO MISSING! AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM?"

"I don't know one hundred percent, but I've got a good idea. And I did not just let him go missing. There's not time for that now, though," Jesse said, running out of the lab. "We've got to get to the hospital, he could still be there."

"And what if he's not? What good is being able to know what his emotions are if you can't stop him from running away again? What good is ANY of this if he's just going to go missing?" Wakko began running after Jesse. Dot grabbed Pinky and the Brain and followed, Dr. Scratchansniff right behind her. They all made it to Scratchansniff's van (it was the biggest vehicle, and with Scratchansniff driving, they would be there in minutes flat) and began to pile in.

"Wakko, I understand you're upset…"

"You don't understand shit."

"Wakko!" Dot cried. She had never heard him curse, at least not when he was aware of that she was around.

"Believe me, Wakko. I understand more than you think I do. We have to get to your brother. We have to talk some sense into him. Please, I don't want you to think that he's just an experiment or that he's just a project to me. Can you trust me to take care of him?"

Wakko thought for a moment and looked the doctor in the eye. "No. I don't think I can." He turned his back to Jesse and looked out the window the rest of the ride. Jesse sighed and turned in his seat, facing front. He didn't think that Wakko was going to be as stubborn as his older brother. But it seems as though he was wrong.

"Um…doctor?" Dot's voice called out. He turned to the female Warner, who was sending glances at her brother. "I trust you, if it means anything." Wakko "hmmphed" and turned more, but Jesse nodded and gave her a small smile.

"It does. Thank you, Dot."

Dot smiled back, and then set out to read the folder she had been carrying. _**Warner, Yakko **_was staring back at her, almost mocking her. She sighed and opened the folder, almost afraid of its contents. Most of its pages were medical notes, various nurses' signatures and the occasional stamp from a doctor. She understood none of that. The last couple of pages, however, were a mix between typed notes and handwritten notes.

_Observations of Yakko Warner:_

_Possible Disorders:_

_-Adjustment Disorders_

_-Separation Anxiety Disorder (__Yakko seems to respond negatively around his siblings, yet his reactions to their not being with him are astounding. It seems as though he is fighting with himself over whether or not he wants them around.)_

_-Various Sleeping Disorders_

_-PLMD (__Who is he fighting in his dreams?)_

_-RBD (__I just got punched in the nose by a sleeping child. What the hell?)_

_-Night terrors (__Yakko talks a great deal in his sleep, however I have been told that is not unusual, especially given his name. However, recently he has been having arguments with what I believe are three separate identities; (I've only heard him speak to a Reynold, Russell and Rueben.) When he does awaken from these night terrors, he doesn't respond to anyone for a good twenty minutes, where he stares at the ceiling blankly. And he always cries after them. When I tried asking him about them, he became defensive and asked for milk, even though all records show his lactose intolerance)_

_-Somniloquy (__He does talk a good deal in his sleep.)_

_-Selective Mutism (__I've noticed that right before his sibling arrive, and some time after they leave, Yakko refuses to speak. Getting him to say anything about it is virtually impossible.)_

_-Delirium (__Everyone is trying to rule this one out, but it seems that Yakko's showing a great deal of the symptoms of this. What is going on in his mind that is causing him to be so unstable?)_

_- Disturbance of consciousness _

_-Change in cognition_

_-Onset of hours to days, and tendency to fluctuate. _

_-Intrusive abnormalities of awareness (hallucinations; __Yakko fights with The Rs often. Who, or what are they?)_

_-Inability to focus (__There is something very off about the way he looks at you when you talk to him. I've heard stories from Otto saying how attentive Yakko is when spoken to. He isn't like that at all.)_

_-Depression_

_-RLS_

_-Unable to determine if movement is a reflex or associated with Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder (RBD)_

Dot closed the folder and left it on her lap. There were more pages, she just couldn't handle reading everything that was wrong with her big brother. She looked at Wakko, who was going through his own folder. He was going over the pages she couldn't. He finished reading, and looked back at her. But it wasn't him that gave her words of encouragement.

"You all look so sad. We're going to find Yakko and fix him, and it'll be all 'woo-wah!' like it was before. Narf! You'll see, everything is going to work out. It just might take some time." The Warners (and the Brain) stared at Pinky, who proceeded to play with his toes. Jesse's pager went off again, and all eyes were on him.

_WARNER IS ON THE ROOF. _

Yakko found the amount of people looking up at him slightly amusing. It was almost like the first time he and his siblings broke free from the water tower, only not. He just shrugged it off, and continued to watch the streets of Glendale move with the daily hustle and bustle of the mid-afternoon lunch rush. He wanted to be part of that. Being able to move freely, and not have to worry about the stress that came with just being. But that wouldn't be fair to his sibling.

'_Who cares about them anyway?_' said one of the voices the frequented his mind. He shook his head, trying to dispel the voice.

'_Yeah, it ain't like they do anything for you, anyways,'_chimed the second voice. He hit the back of his head this time.

'_Face it, Yakko. They don't need you. They only need each other. You'll just be in their way. You ARE just in their way. Did you know that Dot wants to leave the Water Tower and be on her own? Away from _you?' The third voice always hurt the most, because it fed off of his fears. Whatever insecurities he had were fair game for it.

"No. She doesn't want to leave me…" he said, sinking to the floor. He tried with all his might to ignore the voices, the "Three Rs" are what the doctors and nurses called them when they noticed him talk to them. But the longer they inhabited his mind, the more difficult it became to ignore, and the easier it was for them to tear his soul apart, piece by piece. He sat on the floor, clutching his head, trying to block out the words that were causing the tears to fall from his eyes. He jerked and banged his head on the wall behind him when he heard the door open.

"Yakko? Buddy, what are you doing up here?" Dr. Pauniell asked. They weren't buddies. Why did he care what he was doing? "I brought some people here to see you."

When Yakko didn't respond, he sighed, and opened the door. Dr. Scratchansniff went on the roof with Pinky and the Brain in tow.

"Hello Yakko. Long time no see, ja?" Scratchansniff said, trying to get Yakko to say something. He just received a glare from the oldest Warner. He motioned to the mice, hoping they could do better.

"How are you doing, Yakko?" the Brain asked. He, like the two doctors, kept his distance, while Pinky climbed Yakko's arm to sit on his shoulder. Maybe it was the contact, but Yakko gave Pinky his full attention.

"Can I ask you something?" Yakko asked, looking directly at Pinky. "Are they mad at me?" he whispered.

"Nope. Poit. Just sad."

"I made them sad? They're sad because of me?" Yakko began to panic. The Three Rs were right! Now what was he supposed to do? He was letting his family down. They were going to leave him, and he would be alone, and…

"No. They're sad for you. They just want their big brother."

The door opened once more, and this time Wakko and Dot joined their brother on against the side of the roof.

"Sibs…" he whispered. It was almost too good to be true. They weren't really here with him. This was another trick by Rueben. It had to be. But when they both grabbed his hands, and he didn't wake up in Whitewashed Hell, he knew this wasn't just a dream.

"Hi big brother," Dot said.

"Hi, sister sibling." Yakko gently squeezed their hands. "Dr. P?"

Dr. Pauniell did a double take. Yakko didn't speak to him of his own free will. "Yes?"

"C-can I…" The words were stuck in his throat. Wakko and Dot watched silently, while the "Three R's" were yelling at him too.

'Come on, Warner, this shouldn't be that hard!' Yakko thought to himself. After a few moments passed. The "Three R's" were finally silent, allowing Yakko a momentary respite.

"Can I go home now?"


	7. Not Broken

Not Broken

Edited: December 13, 2010

There was a brief silence that fell upon everyone. Could Yakko finally be coming out of this funk that was bothering him? All eyes were Dr. Pauniell. He and Dr. Scratchansniff shared a quick glance, and turned to Yakko.

"Well, given that you have been here for about a little bit more than a month, and you don't seem to really like it here, I suppose we could let you go." Jesse turned to Scratchansniff. "What do you think, little brother?"

"I zink zat you should stop calling me zat!" Scratchansniff kneeled in front of Yakko. The two held a staring contest for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Yakko, in order for ze hospital to allow you clearance to go home you need to prove to zem you can be on your best behavior."

"Is that you way of telling me the answer is a big fat 'no'?" Yakko asked.

"No. Zat means you need to stay one more night because of zis stunt you pulled. Can you do zat?"

Yakko turned to were his brother was holding his hand. Wakko gave him an encouraging smile that screamed 'You CAN do this!' He could do this. It was only one more night. And then he would be home.

'_Yeah. At home where you're not wanted,'_ one of the voices snickered. The other two joined in. He shook his head and looked at Scratchansniff.

"I can do that."

Jesse asked the Brain to continue to monitor Yakko, even though it was to be his last night at the hospital. He had a strange feeling about Yakko returning home, but hoped the interaction with his siblings would stop whatever was causing him to behave in this fashion in the first place.

He was going over some notes when a quiet knock pulled him from his reading.

"Come in," he called. The door opened, and in came Dot Warner. "Dot, what's the matter?" He motioned for her to sit.

"I just wanted to thank you for letting Yakko go home."

"You're welcome." He paused for a moment, glancing back at his notes. "Actually, I'm glad you popped in. Your brothers don't seem to trust me, but I need someone to report to me if something were to happen to Yakko, just in case he has a relapse. Or even if things become better. Can you do that for me?"

"You want me to spy on my brother?" she asked. Jesse shook his head.

"No. I want you to tell me if Yakko gets worse, or, and this might not be the correct term, but, heals."

"What happens if he gets worse?" she asked. He sighed, and leaned back in his chair.

"Then he comes back here for psychoanalysis."

"Yakko is not crazy!" Dot cried, standing on her chair.

"I didn't say he was. Psychoanalysis is just a way for me to look inside his head. He's not crazy, but with the right amount of stress, he could become crazy."

"Oh…" Dot sat back down, looking at her hands folded on her lap. "Well, what happens if he gets better?"

Jesse began to chuckle, which Dot found odd. "If Yakko gets better, he gets to stay with his family, and I get to go back to mine." He passed a photo that was sitting on his desk to her.

"Who's the lady that looks like a pretty Scratchy?"

"That's Otto's older sister, Nina. My wife."

"That's why you call him little brother? I though _you_ were crazy…" she mumbled.

"He thinks I'm trying to corrupt her, or something."

"Huh?"

"Exactly."

The two shared a comfortable silence as Jesse moved some papers around. Dot looked at the clock and got up to leave.

"Dot, can you do that for me?" Jesse asked again. Cautiously, she nodded her head. With a curt nod in response, he handed her a business card. "Just call me there if anything happens."

Dot left Jesse alone with his notes and thoughts. There was still a giant piece to the puzzle that was Yakko Warner's mind that was missing. And Jesse vowed to find it. With Yakko getting back to top form, the other two Warners would go back to being the zany kids Otto was always complaining about. He looked forward to meeting them. Until then, he needed to make an important phone call.

Wakko and Dot weren't permitted to stay with Yakko. All three of them agreed that was utter crap, but what could they do? Doctor's orders. Before any of this happened they would have devised a way to sneak into the room, but now they were all too weary.

"Now listen here, kiddies," Dr. Scratchansniff was to escort the two siblings home, just as precaution. "Tomorrow you can come back und take Yakko home und have the funsies, ja?"

Reluctantly, Wakko and Dot left Yakko's bedside and followed Dr. Scratchansniff out the door. Yakko felt a familiar tingle as he waved at his siblings, and tried his hardest not scream out at Scratchansniff to bring them back. If he was going to have them send him home, he had to show them that he could handle being left without his siblings without causing a scene. Yakko sat on the bed with his hands clutching the bed sheets. He tried everything he could think of to calm down, but nothing seemed to work.

"This was a bad idea. I can't do this…" he said to himself.

'_There he goes.'_

Great. Just what he needed. _They_ were back.

'_First sign of trouble he caves in.'_

'_And he's not even home, yet. I can't wait to see what will happen when he is.'_

'_Just think about it, Yakko. You will be with your brother and sister. Making them miserable.'_

'_Making them realize how much better things were with you not around.'_

'_Making them regret having you back.'_

Yakko fought to go to sleep that night, spending the majority of it curled on his side, trying, and failing, to ignore the voices. They were right. He couldn't go through with it. He was just going to make things worse.

"Scratchy, you're going to need a p-sychiatrist when all this is done," Wakko said.

"Ja. Und a lot of aspirin."

"So why did you tell Yakko he could come home? You and I both know that he isn't back to normal."

"No. He isn't. But I don't zink having him locked up vas helping."

The ride back to Burbank wasn't as frantic as the ride from it. Wakko sat in front with Dr. Scratchansniff, while Dot slept quietly (and very cutely, Wakko thought), in the back.

"I zink zat being home vould do Yakko some good."

"I don't know. He's still very…" Wakko made a strange wave-swish motion with his hand, as he couldn't find the words to explain. "It's like he's not our big brother anymore."

"Vell, zat's vhy you need to keep an eye on him."

"But I shouldn't have to! That's the problem!"

"So, you don't vant ze burden of being responsible for your sibling on your shoulders?" Dr. Scratchansniff asked with a sigh.

"Not really," was the reply.

"Imagine how Yakko feels. It's his 'burden' all ze time. Here you go!" Dr. Scratchansniff pulled the van right in front of the water tower." "Vakey-vakey, Dot."

Wakko watched as Dot groggily got out of the van and made her way to the top of the tower. Scratchansniff turned to him after Dot was inside. He kneeled in front of Wakko and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"You are a good big brother, Wakko. You have been doing a great job of looking after little Dot. You just need to have a little bit more belief in yourself."

Wakko stared at Scratchansniff for a while, then smiled. "That was really cheesy, Scratchy." Scratchansniff groaned and clutched his head. "Do you think I could fill Yakko's shoes? Honestly?"

It was the doctor's turn to smile. "No." Wakko looked crestfallen. "He doesn't vear shoes. So zere is nozing to fill. Goodnight!" He left Wakko to ponder what he said before he could come up with a retort.

Wakko climbed the stairs to the water tower, wearing a dazed look. Dot watched him come in.

"What the matter with you?"

"Scratchy made a joke."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It was a good joke." He joined Dot on the couch. There was a pause.

"Is he drunk?"

Wakko shrugged, stole the remote from her hand ("Hey! I was about to watch something!") and started flipping through the channels at rapid speed.

"Fine, be a jerk," Dot said, kicking him slightly in the leg.

"Ok, then," he said, shoving her with one hand every time she kicked him.

"Jerk," she said reaching for the remote. He jumped off the couch (remote still in his hand) and pushed her from behind.

"So's your face."

After Dot decided to tackle her brother, whilst screaming "BANZAI!" they struggled for the remote for a good twenty minutes, before they called it a night. Wakko led Dot to her room, where she jumped on the bed. After making herself comfortable, she patted the spot next to her, waiting for him to join her.

In the past, anytime that Yakko was away for whatever reason, Wakko would stay with Dot until she fell asleep. This time was no exception.

"Hey, Wakko, tell me a story," Dot said.

"I'm not really good with stories."

"Oh, c'mon. Please?"

"Uh…ok. Once upon a time, and then they all died. The end. Ow!" He rubbed his hand where she pinched him. "I'm not good at telling stories! That's Yakko."

Dot sat quietly. Wakko watched her think. She turned to him again.

"Ok. Sing me a song."

"A bit pushy, aren't we?" he joked. "But a song I can do."

Wakko spent the rest of the evening singing to his sister before the two of them fell asleep.


	8. Tangled

Author's Note: First and foremost, I apologize for the three year hiatus. It was not my intention, but as many fanfic writers know, real life like to butt in every once in a while, making free time, and fun things take a back seat. But, this chapter is done, and I believe it is one of the longest, if not the longest one. I've been reworking and retooling this story, which is part of why this has taken me so long. Thank you for the feedback and the reminders that there are people still reading this, this chapter if you guys. Enjoy.

Disclaimer (that I forgot in the first 7 chapters): Warner Bros. owns "Animaniacs."

Chapter 8: Tangled

When he finally closed his eyes, Yakko saw he was home. Seeing his siblings were nowhere in sight, he sat on the couch, sighing. Looking around, he noticed things were much different than when he left. How long ago was that?

Three snickers approached Yakko.

"Wonderful," he muttered darkly. "Just what I need."

"I know what's really bothering you, Yakko," came the first voice in sing-song form. It belonged to the tallest of the three Yakko lookalikes, Reynold. He threw an arm around Yakko's shoulders. There was no point in trying to push him away. He wouldn't budge. "You're scared of going home. Am I right?" Yakko gave no response. He simply stared stoically ahead, desperately trying to ignore Reynold. "That's what I thought."

"I think he should be scared," said the smallest of the trio- Russell. "It's been a while since he's gone home, a lot must have changed. You saw the way Wakko was all over Dot. He replaced ya, Yak! They probably don't want you to go home. And why should they? If the way you're treating is now is any indication of what kind of brother you are, I'd be glad to be rid of ya myself!" Without warning, he pulled Yakko's head back by the ears, causing him to cry out. "Here's how I see it. You should stay here with us, and never go home! Then ya can't hurt them anymore!"

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Rueben, the middle Yakko doppelganger. "Maybe we could adopt you, or make you _our_ big brother! …wait a second. On second thought, I don't think that would be such a good idea."

"True." Russell said. Rueben nodded in agreement.

"Now, now, fellas. That isn't very nice. We haven't asked Yakko what he thinks about all of this." Reynold turned to the oddly twisted Warner. "Wanna stay here, Yakko?"

The three boys all turned to face Yakko, grinning maliciously. Yakko was glaring up at the ceiling.

"Leave me alone."

Instantly Russell let go and Reynold removed his arm from Yakko's shoulders. The three shared a glance and nodded.

"Not a chance, Warner," they said in unison.

Rueben grabbed Yakko's feet and pulled him off the couch. Unable to grab anything in time, Yakko's head collided with the floor with a dull thudding sound.

"Ow! What the hell?" Yakko yelled.

"Whoopsie," was all Rueben said.

"Such naughty language," Russell said, grabbing Yakko's arms. The two began making their way to the front of the water tower with Yakko, who was trying in vain to struggle against them. Reynold followed silently. Rueben kicked the door open. When everyone was outside, Yakko was dropped callously.

"You're becoming boring, Yakki," said Reynold. "And we're hurt. We're beginning to think you don't want us around."

"Really? Whatever gave you that idea?" Yakko shot back, standing up and dusting off his pants.

"See, it's that attitude that is making this so much harder than it has to be. We don't want you to get hurt," Reynold shook his head.

"I'm getting hurt because of you!"

"Denial is such an ugly thing," Rueben mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"You're only hurting yourself, Yakko," Russell said.

"What? What are you talking about?" Yakko said.

"You won't let us help you make this better. Therefore you make your situation worse."

Yakko grumbled in frustration. "What situation? I don't even know what you're talking about anymore!"

"If you haven't figured it out by now, then you're more messed up than I thought. Fellas?" Reynold motioned to the other two. They circled Yakko, grabbing him as he began to try running away from them. "We're not asking you now. No, now, we're just gonna take what we want. See ya on the other side, Yakki!"

Yakko felt himself being lifted off the floor. He was being thrown over the edge of water tower. Just as on the couch, there was nothing he could grab or hold onto. He was too much in shock to even yell for help. Once the shock wore off, Yakko looked down saw there were only a few seconds before he became a permanent splat on the Warner Bros. Studio lot.

He landed…

"NO!"

Yakko awoke in the hospital room. Drawing in a breath of relief, he sat up. It was still dark outside, which wasn't helped any by the heavy rain. A flash of lightning pierced the sky, making it look like daytime for a few seconds. Yakko wasn't sure whether it was really late at night, or very early in the morning. His room wasn't equipped with a clock, either, so there was no way of him knowing.

Yakko sighed. He wasn't tired anymore, despite sleeping so little. It wasn't like he was going to go back to sleep even if he was tired, not after that little nightmare. It was bad enough to keep Rip Van Winkle awake.

Reaching over to the nightstand beside his bed, Yakko grabbed the picture Pinky had left for him that was leaning against the wilting sunflower. Yakko smiled briefly at Pinky's "family", and then turned it over to the back. There, taped to Pinky's family portrait, was a picture of the Warner siblings. It was the most subdued picture, relatively speaking, that had ever been taken of the trio. Yakko remembered taking that picture. It was right after Wakko was released from the hospital. That was when they figured out why Wakko ate so much, it was brought on by hypoglycemia.

Sometime during the summer, Wakko had begun to get very sick. Neither Yakko nor Dot knew what he had, if they could catch it, or how to take it away from Wakko. After having gone to get groceries one afternoon, Yakko arrived home to find Dot practically yelling at Wakko. Thinking nothing of it at first, Yakko was well prepared to intervene on Wakko's behalf, when he walked into the room and saw Wakko, laying on the floor, grabbing at his side. He then noticed the panic in his sister's voice, and just how sick his brother actually looked. He froze and for the first time he had no words to say.

Though neither could remember how, Dot managed to realize that Yakko was there, standing shell-shocked. Right away, Dot ran to the phone to call for an ambulance. Yakko immediately rushed to Wakko's side. Dot managed to take charge while Yakko tried to get Wakko to respond to him, rubbing his back. He listened to Dot speak as calmly as one could in her situation as he placed a hand on Wakko's forehead.

"That's quite the fever you've got, brother sibling," he said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well? I would never have gone to the store if I knew."

Wakko leaned into Yakko's hand, not saying anything. After a short while of Yakko speaking quietly to Wakko, Dot arrived with help.

Wakko was admitted into the hospital with appendicitis, and the Warners were told that Wakko's appendix needed to be removed. That was enough to scare Yakko, but when the doctors then told him that they wanted to run a few more tests, Yakko was beside himself with worry. After being told to wait for an amount of time that felt like 20 years, the doctors finally emerged with the results of Wakko's blood work.

Low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia.

Oh yeah, and a missing appendix.

Yakko didn't move from his brother's side, only leaving when the doctors told him to, staying at the hospital the entire time his brother was there. Dot went back and forth from the tower to the hospital, taking better care of herself than Yakko was. If one didn't know better, they would assume Dot was the older sibling taking care of him.

Dot came to the rescue yet again, a few days after Wakko was brought in. She was virtually dragging Yakko kicking and screaming from Wakko's room when he refused to budge.

"Yakko, you need to eat something! Wakko is asleep, which is something else you need to do! He won't mind you not being there for a few minutes! " she argued.

"But, what if he _does_ wake up while I'm gone? And besides, I've slept!"

She shot him an incredulous look. "Oh really? When?"

Yakko looked up, thinking very hard and counted on his fingers. "Today's Tuesday… he had a checkup Sunday… Four days ago. I had a nap four days ago."

"FOUR day ago? That's not healthy, Yakko!"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," Yakko said, patting Dot on the head and turning around to go back to Wakko's bedside. He proved to her just how fine he was by promptly collapsing to the floor.

Dot squeaked in fright and ran to Yakko. "_This _is fine?" With a smug look, Dot had the nurse (who was male, to Yakko's dismay and Dot's delight) bring a wheelchair so she could take him to the cafeteria. After that, Yakko decided to swallow his pride and start taking better care of himself while Wakko was getting better. No need for both of the Warner Brothers to be out of commission.

Once Wakko finally got the ok to go home, and at Dot's insistence, Yakko had the doctor look at him, he once again took over as eldest sibling. He called everyone he could think of for someone to pick them up, as he didn't want Wakko walking that much. When nobody agreed to pick them up, Yakko called the last person on his list, and the only person who would agree to help, however reluctantly. Hindsight being what it was, Yakko felt like kicking himself for not having thought of making that particular phone call first.

That was how Scratchansniff found himself driving to the hospital and then back to the water tower on his day off. He really didn't want to do it, but something about Yakko's equanimity on the phone let him know that they wouldn't be playing any tricks on him.

He went inside with them, to make sure they got settled in. He waited three hours for them to finish doing whatever it was they were doing, not even sure why he was waiting. Once they did emerge, Scratchansniff wished he has fled when he had the chance.

The outfits they changed into were bizarre, even for the Warners.

Yakko, for reasons unknown, decided to channel the late Freddie Mercury, wearing very shiny red leather pants, and a shirt that looked as though it had just been in a vicious battle with a mountain lion and lost. Wakko was wearing footie-pajamas, which would have been normal, had it not been for the peacock feathers protruding from various locations. Dot's outfit was quite simply the easiest to explain. She was Baby Spice, down to the blonde wig.

"Why?" Scratchansniff sighed, referring to all three outfits.

"She's the cute one," Dot replied, not even remotely answering Scratchansniff's question. Scratchansniff groaned.

They jumped on the couch, and smiled at Scratchansniff. "Ready for bed!"

Wakko wasn't as loud as his siblings, which they noticed immediately. Wakko just shrugged at the looks on their faces. Yakko put an arm around him, giving him a squeeze and a tender smile.

Without them even realizing it, Scratchansniff pulled out a camera, taking a picture of them. All three jumped at the flash.

"Where'd you get the camera, Scratchy?" Dot asked.

"I…don't know."

"Huh."

"Well, now what?" Wakko asked.

Scratchansniff looked at the camera in his hands. He smiled and said, "Say cheese!"

Not taking his arm away from Wakko, Yakko reached over and pulled Dot onto his lap, resting his head on hers.

"Queso!"

"Fromage!"

"Bacon bits!"

Yakko had asked Scratchansniff for copies of both pictures and kept them with him at all times. He spent a few minutes staring at the picture he taped to the back of Pinky's with a frown on his face.

Everyone seemed to think his asking to go home was Yakko's way of betting back to his siblings. The truth of the matter was, he only asked because he wanted to get out of the hospital. His siblings had nothing to do with that decision. The longer he stayed locked in that room, the more likely it was that he really would go crazy.

If he was really honest with himself, the thought of being alone with his siblings, after everything that just happened, terrified him. It would be assumed that he would go back to "Big Brother" mode. That made him nauseous. He wasn't ready to do that yet. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to go back to that at all.

But to tell Wakko and Dot that would break their hearts. To think, they were actually looking forward to Yakko coming home.

'Although,' he thought, 'maybe my not coming back at all would be a blessing in disguise for everyone.'

Yakko dropped the picture, his frown deepening. He, Yakko Warner, thought that. The "Three R's" had nothing to do with his unhappiness this time.

Outside, the skies of Glendale filled with black clouds. The wind began to move tree branches, with the occasional gusts shaking stop signs. The night sky was lit up like the Fourth of July with the amount of lightning flashing. The thunder rumbled so loudly that car alarms began blaring off in the distance.

And inside a small hospital room, Yakko Warner was staring out the window, once again intensely considering disappearing.

At a laboratory in Burbank sat Pinky and the Brain. The pair was silently watching the monitors in front of them. Each chart and graph had different readings and numbers, all of which were slowly dropping.

Despite his not being as smart at Brain was, Pinky was very aware of what was going on with Yakko. Anybody could see it. All they had to do was look at the video he was looking at. Yakko was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands, not moving. He hadn't moved since he sat in that position twenty minutes ago. Pinky looked at Brain, who sighed.

"I fear this is going to get much worse before it gets better, my friend." Brain stole a glance at the still dropping numbers, before sighing once again and leaving the room.

Looking at the screen one more time, Pinky gave a sad "Poit," followed Brain, leaving behind the image of Yakko looking absolutely broken behind.

Morning came far too quickly for Yakko. He hadn't fallen back to sleep. Not that he tried to, anyway. He merely sat on his bed, watching the storm pass over him, debating with himself as to whether or not it would be a good idea to venture out into it. He made it to the door twice, but lost his courage both times. He would have roamed the halls, but he wasn't in the mood to that, either. So he sat on his bed and looked out the window.

'I'm really good at it, anyway,' he thought darkly. He turned his attention to the door being opened. An elderly nurse walked in with a tray of food.

"You're up awfully early, dear," she said. She looked like she should be in bed, not tending to those that were.

"I'm going home today," he shrugged.

"You don't seem very excited about it."

"Oh, I'm very excited. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

The elderly nurse smiled and nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that. But congratulations on your dismissal."

Yakko watched her out of the corner of his eye until she left. Once she was gone, he looked at the "food" she brought him. Some egg…thing. Was that supposed to be toast? Something else that had the appearance of meat, hopefully, and the consistency of a rubber ball. Orange juice and milk. Grabbing the milk he went towards the bathroom. He dumped the milk in the toilet, and flushed. No use getting sick on his final day in Whitewashed Hell.

He sat back down, pushing around the food-stuff on the tray. He wasn't hungry. And his nerves wouldn't let him eat anything anyway. Not that any "food" looked edible, anyway. Once again the door opened, but Yakko ignored it.

Dr. Pauniell walked in silently. To say that he was very busy would have been an understatement. After leaving Yakko yesterday, he ran back to his office, calling several people before doing more research on his own. That morning, he'd received a very disturbing phone call from Brain. Observing Yakko this morning, he looked worse than he'd ever seen him. Jesse cleared his throat, making Yakko look away from the tray.

"How are you feeling today, Yakko?" he asked, trying to get Yakko to say anything. Yakko only shrugged. "Ok, then…" Jesse scratched his arm nervously, if only for something to do. "Well, I know a couple of people who are very excited that you're getting out of here."

Yakko's head shot up, but the reaction wasn't exactly the one Jesse was hoping for.

"The sibs are here?" Yakko asked, a slightly panicked look replacing the blank mask he wore a few seconds prior. Jesse shook his head.

"No, they're waiting for you at the water tower, from what Scratchansniff told me."

Yakko relaxed a bit, and resumed playing with the items on the tray in front of him.

"So, do you want to finish eating or…"

Immediately, Yakko pushed the tray away, and hopped off the bed.

"Let's go."

Jesse nodded, leading Yakko out of the room and out of the hospital.  
-

Sitting on the couch in the water tower, Dot silently watched her brother pacing. Something was off, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

She and Wakko had, however begrudgingly, gotten used to the silence in the tower their oldest brother had left them. It was almost deafening at first. In the time that Yakko had been gone, they'd grown accustomed to Yakko not poking his head through the door in the morning, or yapping away about every topic under the sun.

Sighing, she looked at the clock. She wanted to go to the hospital, to pick up her brother. Scratchansniff told her no, that she and Wakko had to stay in the water tower and wait for Yakko's return there.

Dot hated waiting.

Wakko, and his newfound restlessness, was wearing down the floor going back and forth around the couch. His arms were behind his back, his faced pulled into a look of deep concentration that Dot wasn't normally used to seeing on it. The thing that killed the look was the tongue hanging out of mouth.

Watching him go around yet again, Dot started giggling. Wakko stopped.

"What?"

"You look so weird!" Dot laughed.

"Gee, thanks," he said before grinning, sticking his tongue out at her. He sat on the couch next to Dot. "It's gonna be really weird the next couple of days," he said, staring hard at the floor.

Dot tried reading his face. Wakko was always the one of the three who could hide his emotions the best. Yakko once said it was almost a defense mechanism, a way for Wakko to assess whatever was happening around him better. With the exception of emotional extremes. When Wakko was very angry, _everybody_ knew it.

Discouraged at her inability to read Wakko's mind, Dot huffed in annoyance. It was a few minutes before she said anything.

"How long do you think it'll take before things get back to normal, Wakko?"

Wakko hesitated, adjusting his cap. With a quiet sigh, he said, "I don't know if things will get back to normal, Dot. A lot had happened."

"But Yakko's going to get better!"

"Maybe," Wakko shrugged, looking uncomfortable, "but it won't be the same as it was."

Dot jumped off the couch, running to her room. She threw herself on the bed, pouting. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Unlike Wakko, Dot wasn't good at hiding her emotions at all. Wakko's comments about Yakko upset her. Instead of hitting him for upsetting her, she just ran away to sulk alone.

She could hit him later.

She wasn't stupid. She knew things were going to be different. Wakko didn't need to be a jerk and tell her, though.

"_I want you to tell me if Yakko gets worse…"_

Dot shuddered, remembering her conversation with Dr. Pauniell. Despite what Wakko felt about the man, he obviously wanted to help. Dot was going to make sure that he got to help them, whether her brothers wanted him to or not. Yakko had no say, since he would be the one getting the help, and Wakko wouldn't be able to do anything about it, since Dr. Pauniell gave her that business card, not him.

Leaning over towards the nightstand next to her bed, Dot started rummaging around for the card.

"Dot?"

Dot jumped and screamed at the voice at her door, slamming the drawer shut. Wakko was giving her an odd look, but stayed at the door. She didn't say anything to him, just stared at him from her bed. She knew it was making him uncomfortable, which was just fine with her.

"Dot, I'm really sorry I upset you. I wasn't trying to…"

"Well you did," she interrupted.

Wakko rubbed his face with both hands. "I know. But it wasn't on purpose, sis. Can I at least come in?"

She should have made him stay where he was. Technically, the only thing keeping him out was his own objections to upsetting her more. Still frowning, she relented. "Fine."

Quietly, Wakko made his way to her, leaning on the bed post instead of sitting down on the bed. Dot assumed it had to do with her still being upset, and his not wanting to be within her reach.

"I know you're worried about Yakko, and you want him to go back to normal. I want that too. Heck, I think even TP wants that!" Wakko threw his arms up to emphasize his point. "But, I don't think we have had time to think that whatever's going on with in his head- Yakko's, not TP- can, maybe possibly be something permanent." Dot shivered at that. Was it really possible that Yakko couldn't get better? Wakko's face grew more serious. "You're only eight, so you probably don't think about this stuff. You shouldn't have to because of that! But ever since all this 'crazy' business started…"

"Yakko's not crazy," Dot muttered, getting tired of having to tell people that.

Wakko gave her a sympathetic look. "No, he isn't. I know that, and you know that. Unfortunately, no one else wants to see it, cause they wanna see Yakko happy and not …_not_ talking. I just want to make sure that you don't get too upset if all this is permanent. I've already started to lose my brother. I don't want to lose my sister, too. Yakko isn't crazy, but he is sick. So we're gonna have to step up and take care of him the way he is always taking care of us."

Dot gazed at Wakko in amazement. He had really taken his responsibility a lot more seriously since Yakko had been gone. Most of the things Yakko did, Wakko was now taking care of. She wondered, if Yakko did get back to normal, would Wakko would go back to being the way he was, too?

She looked at Wakko watching her, waiting for her to say or do something. Wakko was right. It was too much for an eight-year-old to think about. Wakko was eleven, he was too young to have to worry about any of this.

And poor Yakko was having some sort of midlife crisis of epic proportions at fifteen.

"I'm sorry I got mad, Wakko," Dot said crawling over to him on the bed. She opened her arms for a hug, as a peace offering.

Smiling, Wakko accepted the hug.

"I do have a question, though, Wakko."

"What is it?"

Dot smirked. "When did you get so smart?"

Wakko answered by taking his hat and covering her face with it.

The drive from Glendale back to Burbank was taking a very long time. The company was not the best. Reflecting on his ride home, Yakko was both very annoyed and very bored.

The only consolation he got was every second he was in the car was another that he wasn't tied down on a bed or forced to stare at walls. Being locked in a car wasn't that much better, but at least he had the option of opening the door and running out, if he so felt the need. Not that he would, chucking himself out of the vehicle into ongoing traffic going 75 wasn't what he would call "smart".

Although, he really was beginning to wonder which was the lesser of two evils?

As he watched the scenery go by, his thoughts drifted to what would be waiting for him in Burbank. He wasn't a pessimist, and often went well out of his way to make sure that his siblings weren't either, but he was having second thoughts about going home. He briefly wondered, if he asked nicely enough, would Hello Nurse take him in. Only for a little while, of course. Maybe a couple of months. A year. Yeah, a year with Hello Nurse, that would be nice and relaxing.

Not that it would happen. She wasn't even in the car. Pauniell was driving, and Scratchansniff was riding shotgun.

Yakko hoped they didn't plan on following him up to the tower to "observe his interactions," as the other doctors he'd been so privileged to encounter called it. It was going to be tense enough without the constant watch of someone observing his every move.

The two doctors were discussing something, using words that didn't sound English and seemed to be talking about him, trying to avoid saying his name. he honestly didn't care. They could talk about him all they wanted, just as long as it was away from a hospital. Looking out the window again, Yakko sighed at the sign on side of the road.

WELCOME TO BURBANK

"We're here," he muttered. Not as though anyone else in the car was listening to him.

Almost agonizingly slowly, they made their way to the Warner Bros.. Yakko was surprised to see that the guard at the gate wasn't Ralph.

'But I've been away. Why would he need a vacation?' Yakko started to laugh at his thought. Scratchansniff heard him and turned around.

"Are you alright?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Yakko waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Just thinking about something funny."

Scratchansniff nodded, then turned around, muttering something about "You kidses zink everyzing is funny."

Yakko smirked, but kept his mirth to himself this time. No point bothering Scratchy without the sibs, it wasn't as much fun. Not to say it wasn't fun in its own right, but his siblings always found a way to make it more creative.

His siblings.

With that thought, Yakko's smirk disappeared. There was another can of worms that he'd not been waiting for. Would they be ok with him wanting some space? He didn't know. Normally they would be, be he wasn't sure if his stay in hospital gave them some new, weird form of separation anxiety.

Oh how Yakko was not looking forward to finding out.

Finally standing in front of the water tower, Yakko felt a cold shiver run down his back. There he was, finally home, but it felt so completely foreign to him.

There was some consolation, however. Pauniell had dropped him and Scratchansniff off at the studio, before saying he had some work he needed to take care of back at his office. One doctor down…

"Let's get you home und vith your brozer und sister, ok?"

…one doctor still observing. Yakko wanted to say something, anything to get Scratchansniff to let him do this on his own. He just couldn't find the words.

He had to stifle a bitter laugh. Months ago, Scratchansniff would have to found Yakko's inability to speak a blessing and something he would try to delve deeper into. But now it was just another thing on a growing list of things wrong with Yakko. Huffing, Yakko started starting to climb the ladder up the tower. If Scratchansniff followed him, fine. If he didn't, even better. At the top of the tower, Yakko could see Scratchansniff slowly, very slowly, but surely, making his way up. Watching the doctor climb up, Yakko had a brief flash of the nightmare that kept him awake most of the night. The image of himself being thrown over the railing…

Yakko backed away from the railing, closing his eyes as he leaned against the base of the tower. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ok, Yakko?" Scratchansniff asked, looking at him with concern.

Yakko blinked. "Uh…yeah. Just…it's been a while. I forgot how high this was." Yakko closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "I'm ok now. Just needed to…gather my bearings." Scratchansniff said nothing. Yakko gave him a shaky smile. "Let's go see my sibs, yeah?"

'And my heart just stops pounding,' he thought as Scratchansniff walked around him to open the door. Yakko quietly went inside, feeling only half as awkward as he thought he would standing in the tower again.

"Now, Yakko, I have to go und finish somezings, but if you or your siblings need anyzing, you call und I vill try und help."

Yakko spun around. "You're leaving?"

"Did you vant me to stay?"

"No!" Scratchansniff's eyebrows shot up. "Sorry, I meant no, you don't have to if you're busy." With a nod, Scratchansniff patted Yakko on the head, to his displeasure. Without another word, he left.

Unsure of what to do with himself now, Yakko sat on the couch. He could call out to his siblings, letting them know he was home, but he didn't want to do that. Wakko and Dot came out of Dot's room, saving him anymore contemplation on how to get their attention.

"Yakko," Dot said, stopping in front of her door. Waving awkwardly, Yakko gave what he thought was a smile, but it could have been a grimace.

"Hey, sibs."

The two younger Warners just watching Yakko, unsure of what to do. Dot goes to give him a hug, but is stopped by Wakko, who places a hand on her shoulder.

"So…" Yakko said, looking more uncomfortable by the second, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Um… I'm gonna go make a sandwich," Wakko said. Dot looked at him strangely. "Do you want one?" Wakko asked Yakko.

Yakko shook his head.

"No. Thank you, though. I…uh, I ate before I was discharged from the hospital."

"Ok," Wakko nodded.

"Do you guys mind if I go lay down, it was a very long drive to Burbank."

Dot was about to object, but Wakko shook his head. Looking at his brother, he said, "No, you go ahead and do that. We'll catch up when you're more rested."

Yakko managed a grateful smile, before walking to his way to his room. Dot and Wakko watched his retreating form as he exited the room. When the door closed, Wakko let out a sigh.

"He's not happy to be home," Dot said sadly.

"We just gotta give him space. It'll be a while before things get back to normal." Dot nodded, looking down to hide the fact that she was crying. "Hey, don't do that. He's home now, right? At least we have that. Progress!" When Dot didn't respond, Wakko grabbed her hand. "C'mon. I'll make you a sandwich." Dot giggled quietly. "What?

"You just want a sandwich."

"Well, yeah. I'm hungry."

"Wakko, you're always hungry."

Yakko sat on the floor next to his bed the ever increasingly present frown on his face yet again. The water tower was uncomfortably quiet. His siblings were off to their own devices, which was fine with him, as the two sentence conversation with his brother was an experience he didn't particularly feel like repeating anytime soon.

He had no idea how long he'd been in the room by himself, but judging the way his butt felt numb, he gathered it had been a while. Standing up, he stretched his back, hearing his bones make a popping sound. He sat back down, this time on the bed, leading his face on his hands.

The one thing that bothered him more than the awkwardness felt whenever he was in the same room as his siblings, was the fact that he hadn't been bothered by the figments that inhabited his mind lately. Ever since he woke up from the nightmare, he'd been in a bad mood, and his "inner demons" hadn't so much as bothered him once. Normally that would have been a blessing, but to Yakko it felt too… convenient.

He doubted it had anything to do with the fact that he was home. With the exception of the worst sibling encounter ever, he'd been holed up in his room. Silence was not golden if said silence meant his siblings were being ignored. Rubbing his face, Yakko groaned. It hadn't even been a day! What was the matter with him? He fell back on the bed. This wasn't good. He needed to figure out a way to get passed these doldrums, otherwise…

Yakko didn't know what the otherwise meant, he just knew it was nothing good. It also probably involved more doctors, and he really wasn't in the mood for that.

Sitting up, he began plotting a radical idea. Wakko and Dot wanted things to go back to "normal", whatever that was. Of that, Yakko was absolutely positive. Scratchansniff and Pauniell, more the former than the latter, wanted to not have to focus so much attention on Yakko's mental stability. And dammit, he was an actor. If nothing else, all those acting lessons taught him how to control emotions, and how to fake them believably. If everyone around him wanted him to act more like his former self, then Yakko Warner would give the best performance of his life.

He just hoped his acting skills were as good as everyone told him they were.


End file.
